We Make A Promise
by Auria
Summary: Over four centuries have passed since Rinoa's time with Squall. She lives in Balamb Garden, like a prisoner of her own home, unchanged by time. Something has caused her memory to fade, and she will stop at nothing to find "Him". RinoaUltimecia
1. Six Feet Above

We Make A Promise

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By: Auria

Disclaimer: I own some of the dolls, but not the characters, okay? I'm not claiming ownership of Final Fantasy VIII or anything else of Square-Enix's, for that matter. I'm writing a _fanfic._

Author's Note:

Okay first I'd like to say thanks for just clicking the link and giving my fic a chance. Even if you don't review, even if this very author's note is as far as you read into this fic, thanks anyway. Secondly, I want to ask you a favor while reading my fic: be open minded. You don't have to review (of course it's always _wonderful_ hearing words of encouragement), you don't have to do anything, I merely ask that you be open-minded. If you're one of those people that is 100% against the Ultimecia=Rinoa thing, this...might not be the best fic for you. Of course I'm not saying you shouldn't at list give it a chance. You never know, it could turn out pretty alright, couldn't it? All I'm saying is...please don't flame me ranting and raving about how inaccurate the entire plot of my fic is and how much you hate it. If you don't like it, just don't read it. 

Aaand...I believe I've wasted enough of your time with this a/b so on to the fic, and I sincerely hope you enjoy some part of it because I'm certainly enjoying writing it. Please review if you've got the time or inclination--or both. :)

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"Can I tell you a story? …I had a dream. It was a scary dream. We make a promise. A promise to see shooting stars together. I get dress up and put on your ring…but the thing is, I can't remember where I'm suppose to meet you. I start to panic. I really want to meet you, Squall, but I don't know where to go. I start running through the mountains, the desert, the plains…through Timber, Balamb, and Galbadia…

"When I realize I can't run any longer…I…I just want to see you so badly. So I scream, 'Squall!, where are you!?' Then I woke up. I was crying. I'm sorry. You don't have to say anything. I just felt like I had to tell you…"

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"It was just a dream…it doesn't mean anything. Don't worry about it."

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Chapter One

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Six Feet Above

Her eyes were locked on the motionless tea in the white, dainty porcelain tea cup in front of her; almond eyes distant, tranquil--almost, as she stared at her reflection.

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Why doesn't it change…?

The man's voice to her right was faint and far away. There, but not audible. She only heard it subconsciously as he rambled on. "…and so we were thinking we might--Sorceress?"

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Will it ever be different?! She unknowingly frowned.

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"Sorceress Rinoa? S-Sorceress??" …nearer, that voice.

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How many more times will I look into it before I see something different?! Her frown deepened.

"Sorceress is there something wrong?!" the near-shout ripped her from her thoughts. She looked up and glanced around at the various officials seated at the long, rectangular table. A flush crawled up her neck and into her cheeks as she realized all eyes rested on her. The man next to her frowned in concern.

"I'm sorry. I'm fine. Please, continue." she said quietly. 

Every day it seemed harder to cope with the reality of her existence. She felt trapped in a world strangers. Trapped inside herself.

The man to her left continued talking, but his voice became distant once again as her mind meandered off to another place. 

The white feathers at the collar of her black leather jacket brushed against her chin, tickling her every time she turned her head. It gave her a sense of comfort, and she never left home without it. It was warm, and seemed to embrace her like a loving hug would. He gave it to her. 

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He…

She knew it was a he. She knew him. 

There were many things she couldn't remember. Too often she had the strange feeling one is overcome with when one sees a familiar face. Deja-vu became such a common emotion that she no longer acknowledged its presence in her mind. 

Parents. Families. Love. Something she saw when she looked around. Something everyone else seemed to have. They reminded her of Him. She loved films. When the humans would embrace eachother, when they would lift a child and hold it and cuddle it. She especially loved the weddings in films.

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Kissing…promises…rings…

She knew, and yet she had not the faintest idea. It was the strange feeling that haunted every minute of her existence. They called it love. She knew that feeling, that "love". She'd never had it for herself, but she knew it. 

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He was like "love"…

Sorceress Rinoa. A name. The only concrete fact in her life. If you could call it a life. More like a dreary existence, each day stretching so far into the next that the days slowly crawled over eachother and melded together becoming one long day that she was almost sure would never end. 

A warm hand gently closed over hers. "Come, Sorceress, I'll escort you to your room. You don't seem so well tonight." She looked up, and recognized the man as an Instructor. Moretti was his last name. Fairly young, dirty blonde hair and chocolate eyes.

She glanced around the table. Once again, all eyes on her. She hesitated, before standing. "Yes…I suppose you're right." she softly pulled her hand from Moretti's and bid everyone goodnight with a simple nod, before following the Instructor into the hallways of Balamb Garden.

She silently followed Moretti, her eyes lingering over the unfamiliar corridor. She must have been through this one over three hundred times, yet every time it seemed unfamiliar and strange. She couldn't count the number of additions and remodels Balamb Garden had undergone…as far back as she could remember, at least.

She sighed. "Take me to the balcony, instead." she instructed her guide. "I want to see the stars before bed."

Moretti didn't seem to have a problem with her wish, and nodded wordlessly, taking an abrupt turn at the end of the hall. 

She regarded his presence with slight bitterness, though it was no fault of his own. She felt as if she were a child, always having to be escorted here and there. Watched all the time. Oh sure, they always said it was for her own protection, but she was no fool. She knew what she was. They had to keep an eye on her to be sure of their own safety, also. 

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Like I'm some bomb, set to just go off at any time…

"Here we are." Moretti's voice wiped away her daydreams. He moved forward the grasp the handle of the balcony door. The strange, unfamiliar handle. The new handle. 

A warm night breeze wafted through the door and brushed softly over her face, the air blowing past her ears whispering secrets to her. She stepped through the doorway at Moretti's gesture and out to the edge of the balcony, to lean against the railing. 

Her gaze trailed briefly over her arms, over the Odine bangle on her right arm. The one she was forced to wear every moment of her existence, since she could remember. They told her it kept her from harming herself and other's with her powers, and she trusted they were right. Often she wondered what it would be like without it. If she really was the monster they made her out to be. 

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, her gaze wandering up to the sky and from one star to another. The stars invoked a strong, serene feeling within her. Looking out upon them she felt like she knew them, they were her old friends. They would never grow and change and die. They would always be there to listen to her when the dark shadows of night flooded the sky. She smiled, releasing a contented sigh. 

Just then a shooting star streaked across the night sky. It gave her that rare, alive feeling when she watched shooting stars. It was the only thing that ever made her take in a sharp breath and really _feel _the blood rushing through her veins, chills rippling down her spine. She subconsciously brought her left hand to her neck and wrapped her hand around her own two rings, hanging round the silver chain on her neck. She closed her eyes.

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I wish...I wish I could remember. She wished upon the star.

She opened her eyes and grinned. "That was a shooting star! Did you see it?" she pointed to it and turned her head to face Moretti, eyes lit with childlike excitement. He merely smiled and nodded. Her smile faltered slightly and she turned her head to face the stars once more.

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That "polite smile"…I guess not everyone likes shooting stars…

She sighed and turned to face the Instructor once more. "I…I would like to sleep out here, on the balcony, tonight." she stated.

He frowned slightly. "Sorceress, I'm afraid--"

"Go tell Headmaster Whitchurch I'm sleeping out here tonight." she interrupted.

"Sorceress, I can't very well leave you out here on your own." he replied patiently.

"I've been living for centuries, I'm sure I qualify as a 'big girl' by now. Go." she ordered, frowning in determination.

"Sorceress I will not leave." he replied, the same determined expression.

She looked away, tears of frustration brimming her eyes. _He won't see my tears. _She took a deep breath and let the summer-night air dry them from her eyelids. She gave one last glance at the stars, before turned back to Moretti. "Let's go then." 

He nodded and opened the balcony door, gesturing for her to step out.

"No, you step out." she snapped. "I'm not a Hyne-damned porcelain doll, I can hold a door for myself."

He was slightly taken aback, but quickly obeyed and step into the hall of Balamb Garden. She glared at his back silently and followed. 

More unfamiliar, twisting corridors, an elevator ride, and they came to her room, on the fourteenth floor of Balamb. He opened the door for her, and she stepped inside. She turned and locked it before making her way across the room to collapse onto the bed.

The room was beautiful indeed, certainly the most luxurious accommodation on the whole of Balamb Garden. There were three enormous, bay windows on the north end of the room, draped with deep ebony curtains of velvet that were tied back to reveal the whole of the night sky. The head of the bed rested against the west wall, king sized and clothed a with black satin comforter and silk sheets and pillows. The silk bed-skirt brushed against the midnight-blue carpet. A deep mahogany desk inhabited the east wall, complete with a matching chair. Next to the desk sat a tall mahogany bookcase filled with Rinoa's own collection of favorite reads. On the southern wall, a few meters over from the entrance door, was another door, leading into a private bathroom and small dining table for two. 

Rinoa suddenly rose from the bed and walked over to the nook at the base of the center bay window. She grabbed a pillow and wrapped her arms around it, sitting down on the deep blue cushioned nook.

She caught sight of her reflection for the second time that night in the glass of the window. The light projected from the elegant ceiling lamp onto the night sky behind the window made it hard to miss. She looked away. She didn't need to see it to know what she looked like. 

She felt a knot growing in her throat and swallowed hard, hot tears brimming her eyes. She stood and walked back over to the bed, pulling the silver chain handing from the side of the ceiling lamp on the way over to click off the light. She felt around for the edge of the comforter, and peeled it away from the mattress to crawl underneath, not bothering to change into any kind of nightclothes. It didn't matter.

As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was asleep.

~~~

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Running, again, the same field...the long, soft grass brushing her calves as she ran. The beautiful wildflowers, everywhere, a myriad of pastels. The sky was always gray and stormy. 

She panted, her chest rising and falling again. Panic coursed through her veins...always searching. She had to find it. She was scared, lost, wearied, and alone all at the same time. She cried out to the wind, always crying herself hoarse, but she could never hear herself cry and thus did not know what she cried. 

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Always the same ending. She took hold of her rings and looked to the heavens for an answer. Hoping with all her soul the clouds would part and angels would show her the way to...to that place. She didn't know where or what the place was, but she knew she had to be there and that was enough. She always woke up crying into her pillow. 

But not this time.

This time she didn't have to look to the heavens. She immediately stopped running upon seeing a stone house sitting among the wildflowers, under the cloudy sky. Distant, but there. She ran with all her might, and when she was sure her lungs would bust...she ran harder and faster. 

The stone house faded away, swept by the winds. Her heart seemed to stop. A tear slid down her cheek, and she collapsed onto the ground, pulling her legs in and wrapping her arms around them. 

Something brushed across her cheek. Her eyes shot open. It was a man's hand that wiped her tear. She immediately looked up. 

Nothing. 

She reached up and touched her cheek. It was dry. He was there. 

~~~

Rinoa's eyelids slowly parted. Something silver lay on the pillow just inches from her face. Her eyesight focused.

It was her rings, part of the necklace stretched over her cheek. 


	2. Beginning Of The End

A/N: Thanks for telling me about the center tags Pierson, they shouldn't be there anymore. And to everyone who reviewed, thanks for the wonderful reviews! 

Chapter Two

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Beginning of the End

Rinoa blinked once. 

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Good morning to you too, Griever. She thought. She'd called it Griever since the day she noticed that name etched into the inner side of the ring. 

She sat up and pushed stray locks of hair back, away from her face. Sunlight poured into her room, warming her skin as the satin comforter fell off her shoulders and away from her arms. 

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That dream, again...but I'm not crying...

She moved her legs over the side of the bed and stood, the comforter falling away. She walked over to the window and looked at out the wispy clouds scattered over the blue sky.

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No...it wasn't the same one. It finished this time. 

She vaguely noticed that she was still wearing crimson gown she'd worn to the meeting last night, along with the leather jacket. She quickly dismissed this from thought and frowned, thinking about the dream again. 

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And I wasn't alone this time...

She remembered the tear, and the hand that touched her cheek. 

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It was Him. I know it was. 

She sat down at the nook, brought her feet up onto it, and wrapped her arms around her legs. Her left hand closed around the bangle on her right arm and she was reminded of it's presence. She frowned and forced her attention to the window. 

There was a knock at the door. 

She turned her head. "What?!"

"Sorceress, I have your breakfast--" a female voice replied.

"I won't be dining this morning." she interrupted, irritation in her tone. "Just go."

"Sorceress? Are you sure?" the voice behind the door came again. 

"Yes I'm sure!" Rinoa retorted, standing from the nook. "I wouldn't say it if I wasn't sure now leave me alone!" 

The voice never replied. 

Rinoa paced across the room and slid her closet door open. "The dream has to mean something..." she murmured to herself. "It shouldn't have finished...it shouldn't..." she paused, her gaze falling on the bangle around her arm. 

Why couldn't she remove it? 

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Because you're a Sorceress, because it suppresses your power and therefore eliminates danger to others and yourself, because this is the only way you will be able to live safely outside the Sorceress Memorial...

The answers she'd been fed countless times by countless people flooded her mind the instant she questioned it's use. 

"Yes, of course, I'm living safely," she whispered bitterly, rummaging through the closet, not even really concentrating on picking out something. "You're living safely too, aren't you?! In your nice little homes and your nice little families and--" her voice caught in her throat. She realized how upset she'd let herself become.

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None of them know what it is not to know what you are, not know why your life is so different from everyone else's, or how you even came to be in the first place. Her vision blurred as she backed away from the closet and sat on the foot of the bed, her elbows propped on her thighs and her forehead falling into her hands.

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Where is He now? Where is the hand that wipes my tears?

She raised her head, a tear sliding down her pale cheek. "Where are you now, huh? How can I find you?" she seemed to speak to the air. She stood and walked to the window, gripping the frame. "I'm crying, do you see the tear?! Where is your hand now?!"

The tear dropped from her chin as more joined in the journey down her face, now both her cheeks wet with streaks of salty tears. The habit of grabbing the rings around her neck once again took hold. Her lip trembled, and she exhaled deeply before sharply taking in more air.

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How can I find you? So many questions...all I want is answers. I'll go anywhere, I'll do anything, I swear it. I'm...so tired of being lost. What do I do? How does this change? 

She brought her hand to her face, wiping her finger across each cheek to brush away her tears. Once again the Odine bangle caught her attention. Determination gripped her like a vise. "Off you come." she spoke to it. "I don't care what they do, today you're off. Things are going to start changing, and you're the first." 

She abandoned the window and paced across the room to the mahogany desk, pulling out the chair and sitting on the deep blue cushion. She held her right arm in front of her, twisting it so she could see all sides of the device. 

She frowned in thought. Only one breach in the bangle, a slim crack straight down one side. She pushed the tips of her nails into the crack and pulled with all the strength in her left arm. It didn't budge. 

She exhaled loudly with frustration and slammed her right forearm against the desk hard. She didn't feel a thing, but flinched at the loud cracking sound she'd made. Anyone in the halls outside her room definitely would have heard it. She looked over her shoulder at the door. If anyone did, they certainly would have come to her door by now. 

She turned to face the desk once again. She brought up her arm and examined it more closely. 

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Is it locked from within...?

The word "locked" brought more worries into her mind. 

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Is it really locked onto my arm? Do I have to have a key?!

She frowned. "You're coming off, even if I have to saw half my arm off." she murmured, pulling open the desk drawer. She thrust left hand into it, shoving things around inside. "You will come off...here we are." she withdrew a paper clip. 

She bent and twisted it using both hands until it was the closest it would ever be to straight. With her left hand she gripped it, and positioned her right arm with the breach in the bangle facing upwards. She stuck the end of the bent paperclip into the crack as far as it would go. She felt it poke her arm. 

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So it does_ go all the way through..._

She ran the end of the paperclip down the crack, the tip of it grazing over her arm until mid-way down the crack it wouldn't slide any further. She raised the paperclip slightly, then jammed the end down into whatever it was holding the crack shut. To her amazement, the bangle immediately popped open with a 'crack' and she was looking down at the skin of her right arm. 

Her vision blurred. She stood and pushed back with her heels, stumbling around the chair as it toppled over. The world twisted and turned around her and she lost her balance, falling onto the ground, her back hitting the edge of the bed. She placed her palms against the plush carpet and tried to push herself up more against the bed, but she found herself too weak. She gave up the battle and looked around, her eyes obeying none of her commands. Her eyelids slid down, blocking half her vision.

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What...what is this...?

The blood seemed to tingle in her veins. Her breaths were deep and fast, her chest rising and falling as she tried to suck in all the air she could. She curled and uncurled her fingers, slowly bending and straightening her legs, her feet sliding across the carpet. 

Her heart raced, her eyes now completely closed. Her fingers and legs became slow and sluggish until at last lay idle. She was vaguely aware of the cold sweat in her palms. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears, rhythmic and soft, yet strong. 

Only moments had passed since she'd cracked open Odine's bangle, but when her eyelids parted, it felt as if she were waking from the most restful sleep of her life. Her breaths were still deep, but now slowed to a steady pace. 

A lock of hair fell across her face as she pushed herself up so her back was straighter against the bed. She brushed the hair away with her hand. 

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Was that...?!

She grabbed a fistful of the ends of her hair and held it in front of her eyes. She almost couldn't believe what she was seeing. 

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White...my hair is white?!

She stood. Her legs felt unusually strong, forceful. At her full height, confidence and power surged through her system. She glanced around the room. Everything seemed different, yet it was the exact same room it had always been. 

She walked into the bathroom and flipped on the light. Her lips parted slightly and her eyes widened as she gazed at the woman in the mirror. 

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My reflection?! It can't be...

Silvery-white hair framed pale skin, with a faint ribbon of purple streaking down from her hairline through each cheek, at the inside of each eye, and from there a slash up to each temple. Her lips had changed from their former flesh-pink shade to the color of blood. Her eyelids had taken on a dark shade, painted in smoky way that was much like makeup--but more surprisingly her eyes had changed, too. What used to be a warm almond iris was now a startlingly bright yellow.

She simply stared, her gaze wandering from one feature to the other. 

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This...is me? 

She frowned.

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This is who I am, then? 

Someone knocked at the door. She was so caught up in her own thoughts the sound startled her. The thought finally crossed her mind--how was she going to manage like this without them knowing? She couldn't. 

The rap on the door sounded again.

"I can't come to the door now, what do you want?!" she yelled. The muffled reply that came was inaudible from the bathroom. She stepped out into the living room and nearer to the door. "I'm sorry I didn't hear you, what was that?"

"Sorceress Rinoa, Headmaster Whitchurch would like to inform you that we will be stopping in Fisherman's Horizon shortly. He would also like to extend a personal invitation to you to dine with himself, a few other Garden officials, and the Mayor and Mayor's wife tonight." 

Rinoa rolled her eyes. "Oh please, he doesn't want my company. He's afraid I'll get my panties in a twist and decide to try and use my big bad powers if he _doesn't_ extend an invitation to me." Rinoa snapped.

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Powers that I'm not even positive exist, yet everyone seems to fear.

"E-Excuse me...?" the man replied unsurely.

Rinoa realized she'd let her mouth run a little too freely. She sighed. "Tell him I'll come to his little dinner party. When will my escort arrive?"

"We will be stepping off Garden at seven o'clock tonight, Sorceress." he answered.

"Thank you." she replied.

"You're welcome. And good morning to you Sorceress." he said.

"Right, of course. Now get way from my door." she said with a roll of her eyes.

She walked back over to the desk and bent to pick up the Odine bangle. A thought crossed her mind--what if she were to put it back on? Why this drastic change in appearance? Yes--the purpose of the bangle was to somehow prevent usage of Sorceress powers--but how exactly did it work? 

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Why did I change so much?

She placed it on top of the desk and shut the drawer she'd pulled the paperclip out of earlier. 

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Now what? Look at me...I might as well be a different person. Where do I go from here?

She walked over to the window and crawled up onto the nook seat. 

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I'll have to leave Garden. There's no reason for staying, anyhow. What is here for me? A bedroom. Food. Countless nights of the Headmaster's meetings and dinner parties with various country officials and ambassadors and who knows who else. People asking for my input regarding Garden to make me feel important. Everyone watching every Hyne-damned second... 

"Not anymore..." she murmured. 

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The answers are out there, I know it. All I have to do is find them. Only, where do I go first? What is the best place to start? And what of those who cross my path--Hyne knows there will be many--what of them? Death? I don't want to. Still, I can't let anything stop me...

She remembered the books she'd read about Esthar. She remembered the way it's technology amazed her last she'd been there--for some kind of meeting, no doubt. 

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Esthar, City of the Future they sometimes say. The largest and most advanced city in the world, plethora of information, of scientists who know magic use better than the soldiers that use it. There must be something there for me, some kind of information of some use. I will find my answers--I will find Him--if it means the end of me. 

Her decision had been made, and her willpower would stand against all odds imaginable.

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